That wasn't so bad
by Mysana
Summary: She is 63 years old when the Hokage turns up on her doorstep holding a baby that definitely isn't hers. My response to the 'old lady guardian abuses Naruto' trope.


She's a 63 year old, retired chunin who lives alone. For those reasons she is, understandably, surprised when the Hokage appears on her doorstep one morning. Add to that the fact that she had been marked for potential ANBU recruitment when she was young and before her is a blond child who bears whisker marks on his cheeks. This means she doesn't really need the explanation that he gives anyway. She holds the new jinchuuriki in her arms and promises to care for him.

She knew Uzumaki Mito. Not personally, of course, but peripherally, as anyone who is old enough to have been a ninja before Sarutobi-sama became Hokage does. She had been fury and grace and the epitome of the kunoichi. Sacrifice, and love, and power. She wonders if the reason the boy is called Uzumaki is in dedication to her, or if he actually possesses some Uzumaki blood himself. Regardless she cradles the babe in her arms and bids the Hokage good day. When she goes into the spare bedroom there is already a cradle and changing table assembled. She wonders, briefly, if the Hokage is so used to ANBU he doesn't realise how creepy they are.

The boy cries and cries _and cries,_ and each and every time she drags stiff joints and sore bones out of bed to care for him. Her own child and husband are years dead and it takes a few tries to get the hang of using diapers again. (Something she hadn't enjoyed the first time around, and isn't any better now.) She quickly learns that the boy (his name is Naruto) needs more milk than any child she has ever before heard of. His skin is hot and his eyes bleed red and when he's upset.

It's all a touch unsettling, but a pattern grows.

She's too old to help with the rebuilding effort. All the chakra in the world can't stop ageing (no matter how Tsunade-hime tries) and her young charge has become a daily reminder. She wonders how the Hokage continues on. There is nothing comfortable about spending 10 hours a day signing paperwork, and even her overstuffed armchair causes a sharp, continuous pain in her hips.

In her age, the days go by so quickly, sleep, eat, grocery shop, read a book, sleep and repeat. This disruption makes everyday go faster, and slower, at the same time. In the beginning, she takes the boy with her to buy supplies, but within a week word has gotten out that he is the demon. It becomes uncomfortable, and soon unsafe to bring him along. She laments the stupidity of this new generation.

She tries to hire a genin team to watch over him and gets called to speak with the Hokage about trying to 'foist the boy off on someone else'. She laments the stupidity of those who spend too long looking at the big picture to see the small details.

The boy grows so quickly, and she ages along with him. She does her best to look out for him. To keep him warm and fed and happy.

She's 66 years old and the boy walks faster than she can move on the best of days.

 _Her time is running out_.

She tries to teach him healthy eating, stretching, and all those other things that clan children know like they know the sky is blue. Those things she had to teach herself. No matter how she tries, _he is only three years old_.

 _She feels so tired these days_.

She's 67 years old and one morning she wakes and can see the end.

The boy is out of bed and waiting at the kitchen table by the time she has managed to don suitable clothing for the occasion. Her hands shake as she does her best to make the boy tamagoyaki. (She's not hungry.) The boy chats loudly about something but her head feels fuzzy and her attention wanders. His eggs make crunching noises in his mouth. She reminds him to chew with his mouth closed and he rolls his eyes.

"You said that already baa-chan!"

They walk down the three steps to the street and each step takes far too long.

"Get a home with lots of steps," she tells him as her left-hand holds as close to an iron grip as she can get on the handrail, "it will keep you fit and limber while you're young." There is more to be said on the topic but the boy has started up on a new topic and her thoughts get lost in his storm.

("I want an apartment with a lotta stairs, Ojii-san!")

The walk to the Hokage's office is slow and the boy runs ahead and back the whole way there. Not even out of breath when they arrive. Her chest is heavy and she would like nothing more than to sit down. If she sits down, she will not stand back up again, she does not think.

"Hokage-sama," she says, weighing each word carefully, trying her best to keep her thoughts straight. They're all so jumbled though and she's not entirely sure how coherent she is. "I must regretfully resign from all of my duties as a shinobi of Konoha as of tonight."

The Hokage watches her carefully, his face is lined with wrinkles much like her own, yet he has years yet left in him. She has less than a day.

"I understand, Konoha thanks you for your service." He takes a slow puff of his pipe and watches as the boy looks between them in confusion. "Might I suggest you and your young charge share one last meal together?"

She readies a response. Her cooking is no good anymore. She cannot remember a single restaurant in all of Konoha. She just wants to _rest_.

"Can we go to that yummy smelling place by the corner?" The boy asks, all sunshine and excitement. She looks at him and nods slowly. She cannot remember which shop he is speaking of, but it doesn't matter much anyway.

She finds herself at a ramen shop called Ichiraku and she does her best to hold her back straight and steady while the boy devours an entire bowl, fit to feed a full-grown man. Her memory is spotty and she can't remember how they arrived here. Regardless she waits patiently and sips green tea while the boy eats. After she realises she has no money on her and the kind young man behind the counter waves it away as on the house an ANBU member appears and the boy happily takes their hand.

She lays down and rests, for just a moment in her bed. And she smiles.

 _That wasn't so bad, now was it?_


End file.
